32 Aptavani-2
bullock has blinders on his eyes and therefore he remains engrossed in his own world, as he toils walking round and round, he thinks‘ we must have reached our destination’, but when the blinders are removed he realizes he is in the same place as before. The oil maker then feeds the bullock some oil cake and the bullock is happy, and here the wife feeds the husband some handvo( baked spicy dish) and he sleeps peacefully.
When one enters a hospital for an illness and sees the suffering there, his moha( attachment) would leave. Alas this does not remain in his awareness. If it did he would lose his attachment for this worldly life. When the wife gets a large pimple on her face, the husband does not like to look at her. Both wonder what others will think if they see her. Aren’ t people like mangos? They don’ t like mangos when their skin becomes wrinkled.‘ We’ view human beings as mangos because they become rotten and decay like mangos do. It would be a different matter if the mangos were never to wrinkle and rot, but the moment you bring them home, they begin to wrinkle. This uncle and aunt looked beautiful the day they got married and now that they have become old, they do not like it. But what can anyone do? This is India! When mangos are fresh, they look beautiful all over but what happens when the skin shrivels? The one who is not able to discern the difference will make do with it but what happens to the discriminating one? There are nothing but traps everywhere! He liked her when he married her but now that her skin is shriveled, he does not. However, this is India; he has to put up with her even though he does not like it.
Let me tell you what this body is like. Whatever pleasure it gave in youth, it will give an equivalent amount of pain in one’ s old age. He says,“ This is my body”, but it produces suffering even when he pampers it as his own. The teeth are brushed and polished every day, and yet they bring pain and suffering. The eyes hurt, the ears hurt and everything torments. That, which is